China. Wow. What can I say other than, it changed my life. Forever! And not just because I grew my boobs there. This is a country that prior to our grand world escapade, meant little more to me than the cliché of “digging a hole in your backyard to get there”. A strange concept since the reality is we would actually end up somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
We spent 2.5 months in China. I never could’ve imagined all of the incredible natural, historic and man-made wonders I would encounter there. There is so much to say about this fascinating country that I can only recommend you read my first two travelogues “I Grew My Boobs in China” and “Backpacks and Bra Straps” to fully understand the kinds of adventures waiting in China.
To name a few, Great Wall of China, Terracotta Warriors, Tiger Leaping Gorge, giant stone Buddha, Mount Emei, World’s second lowest depression in Turpan, Tibet, Beijing, Hong Kong, rice fields, water buffalo, and so much more.
Enjoy his photo essay of the third largest country in the world.
- The whole street seemed to be full of screaming ‘pick me! pick me!’ florescent signs. – Hong Kong
- The Repulse Bay. Hong Kong
- Macau. with the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre being the tallest.
- Macau
- Cruising along the Li river in the Yulong Valley in Yangshou.
- Surrounded by karst peaks the Li river is quiet surreal – Yangshuo
- Cleaning off the mud from the Moon Water Cave. Yangshuo
- A day in school. We were lucky enough to be guest for the english classes.
- Once you are out of the big cities you jump right into the past. Water buffaloes and rice fields.
- The picturesque city of Dali in the Yunnan province.
- Homes in Guangxi an autonomous region in southern China
- Functional balance and harmony.” – Longji Rice Terrace
- Lijang in Yunnan province is a beauitful city.
- The trail got narrower and narrower the higher we climbed. Tiger Leaping Gorge
- Tiger Leaping Gorge is a gorgeous canyon on the Jinsha River in Yunnan province
- Stone Forest is a park with natural limestone formations.
- Love to see the dragons carved into the stones.
- Women working hard on the road crew. Breaking rocks and laying roads the hard way by hand.
- Zhonghe Temple on top of the hill in Dali. The incense at the monasteries are huge.
- Mount Emei is getting the best of Savannah. And is listed as a UNESCO site
- Half way up Emei Shan we stayed the night at this Shaolin Monastery .
- A monk in the mist – Emei Shan
- Mount Emei is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Working our way up
- The Giant Buddha is the largest stone Buddha in the world and it is by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world, and is listed as a UNESCO site
- The ancient city of Songpan was built during Tang Dynasty and it was later rebuilt during Ming Dynasty. This is also where we started out horse trek .
- Camping out in the mountains on our horse trek. Songpan
- We passed by Tibetan towns on our horse trek then the mountains. Songpan
- Panda bears chilling and just eating there breakfast of bamboo, Chengdu
- Fengdu Ghost city is a large complex of shrines, temples and monasteries dedicated to the afterlife on Ming Mountain
- Fengdu Ghost city this is a 11 story Pavilion
- Views along the Yangtze River.
- 3 gorges Jangtze River, cruising up the narrow river as it is being flooded.
- 3 gorges Jangtze River. The 175m marker. this was the goal height to raise the river.
- Most of these building would be underwater when the river reaches the 175m marker and goal. on the Yangtze River
- Sunset on the Yangtze River 3 gorges.
- Terracotta Warriors and Horses. They are 2,000 years old and it took thousands of people 40 years to complete. Xian
- The Terra Cotta Army is a sensational archeological find and is a UNESCO site.
- Datong Yungang Grottoes had 51,000 Buddhist statues and is another of the UNESCO sites.
- “In five hours, we’d conquered only ten of the Wall’s 6,400km, and it really helped put things into perspective.” Great Wall of China
- Bre with some cuties from Songpan.
- A little relax time on the bus trips in China.
- The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912. Beijing
- Tiananmen Square is a very large city square in the centre of Beijing,
- The Id Kah Mosque is the largest mosque in China. Kashgar
- The day begins with Uighur farmers and herders coming into the city from nearby villages. -Kasghar sunday market.
- A traffic jam in Kashgar a city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in China’s far west. It was a stop on the Silk Road, with its history of over 2,000 years.
- This is how the men sit and relax in Kashgar.
- Cute little curious children in Kashgar
- Kashgar markets are full of colour and smells.
- The Jiaohe Ruins an archaeological site found in the Yarnaz Valley. An important city on the silk road. It was finally abandoned after its destruction during an invasion by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
- Enjoying a bike ride from Mingsha Shan (Echo Sand Mountain), Donghoung
- Tibetan boys being little mischief Lhasa
- Vendors on the streets of Kashgar.
- Ladies in the streets of Kashgar.
- Aydingkol Lake is the 3rd lowest place place at -154m. -Turpan
- The Jiaohe Ruins was finally abandoned after its destruction during an invasion by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
- Now this is some serious altitude change. On the way to Tibet. above 5000m
- Begging children in Tibet
- The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet from the back
- Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. It is now a museum and World Heritage Site.
- Dalai Lama tomb in the Potala Palace.
- Decor inside that Potala Palace is very similar to many monasteries though out china and Mongola.
- From inside the Potala Palace complex. Lhasa
- This is heavy work. Repair work on the Palace.
- Meeting the monks of Potala Palace. Lhasa
- Monks during debate. Lhasa
- Penchor Chode Monastery, built in 1418- 1425 Gyantse
- Gyantse is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region,
- Those are small doors with lots of cowpies around them. A little village on the why to Nepal.
- Scenery along the friendship highway
- The not so friendly Friendship Highway on the way from Tibet to Nepal
- Leaving China on the Friendship Highway.
Savannah
Stay tuned for more #FridayFotos. Next week is CONGO
View more photos of China here.
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Categories: Savannah Grace
Reblogged this on maggiethemom and commented:
There are so many great things to see in China. I can’t believe that this is where it all began in our journey. 🙂
Wow! Lots of beautiful pics of China. China is always a good destination for the travel. Absolutely loved this post. Amazing.